


Dance Practice

by jhoom



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Bottom Bucky Barnes, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Requited Unrequited Love, Top Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:42:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24881011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jhoom/pseuds/jhoom
Summary: It starts as Bucky offering to teach Steve how to dance to help him feel more comfortable with girls. It progresses from there and soon gets out of hand.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 25
Kudos: 198





	Dance Practice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hey_you_with_the_face](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hey_you_with_the_face/gifts).



> ~~whoops more stucky i'm sorry~~
> 
> come visit me on tumblr

"I don't even know how to dance, Buck." 

It's a flimsy excuse, but he thinks it'll but him some time to figure things out. The truth is he doesn't know  _ why _ he's not interested in asking the pretty girls to dance, but he isn't. Bucky’s persistent, though, and if he doesn’t offer  _ some _ reason, he keep pestering him until he gets one. 

In the heat of the moment, Steve’s genuinely not sure what might slip out of his mouth. Until  _ he _ can figure it out, he doesn’t know if he wants to share too much about it. Not that Bucky will judge, but yeah. 

“Is that all?” Bucky’s smile is radiant. Steve’s too caught up staring at it to realize what’s happening until Bucky’s crossed the small space and pulled Steve flush against him. “Here, lemme show you.” 

“ _ Show me _ ?” Steve chokes and then they’re moving. He scrambles to keep up and is almost relieved when Bucky grabs his hands to place one on Bucky’s shoulder and one on his waist. 

“I’ll lead for a bit ‘til you get the feel for it,” Bucky says. As always, his movements are fluid and graceful. Steve’s spent plenty of nights out watching Bucky twirling a date around effortlessly, and apparently Steve’s no different.

All Steve does is step on his toes.

“See, I’m useless,” he grumbles. He doesn’t pull away. 

“You think you’re the only one who’s ever stepped on someone’s toes? I’ve done it, plenty of the girls I dance with do it, it’s not a big deal. Gotta learn somehow. May as well get as much of your foot-stepping outta the way with me.” 

Steve looks down at their feet to hide his blush. 

They keep dancing and slowly he gets better, even leading a few times. Steve wouldn’t say he’s  _ good _ (“You’re doin’ great, don’t sell yourself short, punk.”), but if he could ever get a dame to dance with him, he thinks he wouldn’t be a total embarrassment to dancing. 

“Now for the test,” Bucky says as he pulls away. Steve’s suddenly cold, Bucky taking all the warmth with him. 

He watches in confusion as Bucky goes to the radio and turns up the music. Then he’s back in Steve’s arms and all of his earlier unease is gone, just like that. 

“It ain’t dancing without music,” Bucky teases, completely oblivious to Steve’s silence. “Might even help you keep the rhythm of it. C’mon, you lead.” 

They dance and dance until Steve’s exhausted. He should’ve ended it hours ago, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave Bucky’s arms. He worries that this, this closeness, is part of the reason he doesn’t care about any of the dates Bucky sets him up on. It’s a discovery that’s always been there, out in the open and waiting for Steve to acknowledge it, but Steve’s not ready to do it just yet; he ignores his feelings and instead concentrates on memorizing everything about the dance. 

_ Though maybe that’s how I’ll know, _ he thinks idly. He wants to rest his head against Bucky’s chest but doesn’t dare.  _ That’s how I’ll know a girl’s the one: dancing with her will feel as good as this. _

“You tired?” Bucky asks after Steve starts falling a few steps behind. 

“Yeah,” he admits. No point denying it. Easiest confession he could make tonight, anyway. 

And instantly they stop. They stay close though, crowding each other’s space, and Steve works up the courage to look up. 

Funny, Bucky always going on about how brave Steve is. In this moment, staring into Bucky’s eyes, he feels like a coward. 

“You know,” Bucky eventually says, like he’s suddenly just thought of a brilliant idea. “There’s something else you should practice. Dancing’s only half of it if you wanna impress the dames.” 

“Oh yeah?” There’s a hitch to his voice that he hates himself for. “What’s that?” 

“Close your eyes, Stevie.” 

He does. He has a sinking suspicion this will  _ not _ end well, but he does. 

There’s the press of lips against his own, soft and chaste but deliberate. Steve whines, can’t help it, and leans into the kiss. It stays slow at first as Steve explores the sensation, moving his lips against Bucky’s. As he grows bolder, tracing his tongue along the seam of Bucky’s lips. 

He nearly collapses when Bucky opens his mouth and lets him in. 

Steve’s never kissed anyone, not in any way that matters, and he takes as much as he can get. Bucky lets him, lets him explore, urges him on with small little noises that might be whimpers. All it does is encourage him to keep going until he can barely remember why he’s never tried this before and why he shouldn’t try it ever again.

“You’re a natural,” Bucky says, breathless and gorgeous when they finally pull apart. There’s a flush to his cheeks, a light to his eyes, and Steve knows that his entire world is right here in front of him, masquerading as Bucky Barnes. 

“Thanks,” he says. He worries his bottom lip before asking, “That mean you don’t think I need more practice…?” 

Bucky laughs, that one laugh where his eyes crinkle and he looks as happy as the time he won his first fight, and Steve knows he’s fucked over. There’s no coming out of this night without facing the truth he’s long buried in his heart, he’s not ready for it, he  _ can’t _ live with it out in the open, tearing him apart every day as Bucky continues to date every pretty girl in a fifty mile radius— 

“Definitely should practice more.” 

And Steve dives back in for another kiss, his own sanity be damned. 

They make it to the bedroom, which Steve only notices when the back of his legs hit a bed and he falls backwards onto it. The fall startles him, but then Bucky’s there, kneeling between his knees and kissing him again. Feeling bolder (stupider?) that he’s ever felt in his damn life, his hands come up to wrap around Bucky’s neck, to tangle in his hair, to force him even closer and prevent even the hope of escape. 

Bucky still manages it, wiggling out of the kiss so he can whisper in Steve’s ear. 

“One more thing we can practice.” His words make Steve shiver, the effect only amplified as his hands come to rest on Steve’s thighs, massaging into the muscle there. 

“Oh?” Steve asks, proud that his voice doesn’t shake. 

“First time’s always a mess…” Bucky’s hands move upward, trace the waistband of his slacks before working at the buckle. He does it slow, like he’s giving Steve the chance to stop him. “Not a bad idea to practice… get the first time over with so you can make the next one count…” 

Bucky’s gotten the belt undone, his pants open, and then he stops. Oh, right, he needs an answer. 

“I don’t know how,” Steve confesses. “I’ve never—” 

“I know, Stevie,” Bucky assures him. “That’s the whole point of practicin’, ain’t it? Didn’t know how to dance or kiss before we started the night, either, and now you’re a pro. Got me hard with just your lips on mine, you know that? You’re doin’ so good…” 

That’s… that’s a lot to unpack. He’s not sure what to do with the information, even as he considers it again and again. 

“If you think it’s a good idea…” Steve says, and he’s rewarded with Bucky’s hand  _ finally _ on him. He’s felt the low thrum of arousal most of the evening, and now it overwhelms him, takes over completely. Within seconds, he’s hard in Bucky’s hand and blissfully riding the small crests of pleasure. 

“Take your clothes off, okay?” Bucky whispers and kisses his temple before pulling away. “I gotta get ready.” 

It’s agony being apart after so long breathing in Bucky’s scent. He undresses in the dark room, glad that there isn’t much light coming in through the window. Bucky must  _ know _ what Steve looks like beneath the baggy clothes, but he’s still self-conscious about it. As he sits on the edge of the bed—Bucky’s, as it turns out—he shifts uneasily, unable to settle. 

And then Bucky’s at the bedside, stroking himself and looking down at Steve with a predatory gaze. He looks him over head to toe, and Steve returns the favor. Bucky’s handsome, always has been, but he’s  _ stunning _ in the pale moonlight with nothing between them but a few feet of empty air. Tan skin, strong muscles, an ease to his movements that Steve’s always admired and been a little jealous of. 

It makes him feel even smaller, somehow  _ less _ . It’s clear that Bucky’s doing this as a friend, and Steve grounds himself in that knowledge. This is a one time thing, and he’d better make the most of it. 

“Lemme lie down?” Bucky asks with a mischievous look in his eyes. 

“It’s your bed, go ahead.” 

When he gets up, Bucky puts a hand around his wrist to keep him from going too far. He settles on the blankets and pillows and urges Steve to sit at the end of the bed. Fascinated, he sits between Bucky’s bent legs and watches as he starts to work himself open.

If practicing all this is supposed to help Steve get a girl… what the hell is Bucky practicing for? Just to help out a friend? It doesn’t make sense, the expert way his fingers disappear inside of him. How did he learn this? What oil coats his fingers to make them slide in and out so easily? 

How many times has he done this before? 

None of these questions leave his lips. It feels wrong to ask, to shatter the moment with accusations, so he keeps quiet and watches. 

“You won’t have to worry about this stuff with the dames,” Bucky says. He wipes his hand on his blankets and then beckons Steve forward. “This part, though… This part’s about the same.” 

Steve settles between Bucky’s thighs, inching forward to his waiting hole. He’s hard, of course he is, but he strokes himself to buy himself a minute and clear his head. 

“You sure about this…?” Steve asks. 

“You always such a damn gentleman? Get in me, c’mon. Don’t make me wait for it.” 

Okay, yeah, he could do that. 

He goes slow, sensing Bucky’s body resist him. He’d take it as a sign except Bucky’s head falls back and he moans in what can only be pleasure as Steve pushes in. He keeps going, spurred on by Bucky’s reaction and maybe a little proud he can draw sounds like that out of his best friend’s mouth. 

When he bottoms out, his balls pressed firmly against Bucky’s ass, he waits. He wonders what’s allowed right now, in this intimate position they’ve stumbled into all in the name of “practice.” Can he swoop down to kiss Bucky’s lips, his neck, breathe in the scent of him, lick up the sweat pooling at his collarbone? 

“You’re doin’ great, darling,” Bucky says. He’s working his dick over like he knows damn well Steve’s too out of his mind trying to fuck into him. “Knew you’d be as good as using that dick as you are at runnin’ your mouth.” 

“You’re a jerk,” Steve grumps. Despite his forced frown, he preens at the praise. “You always go around thinking about people’s dicks.” 

“Just yours,” Bucky admits with a laugh, then uses his free hand to pull Steve down for a kiss. Like he wants to swallow up any prodding questions that might follow his confession. It works, a wonderful distraction. 

As he gets closer, though, Steve has to break the kiss. He has to focus on moving, keeping himself steady, pushing himself closer and closer to the brink. 

“You look real pretty like that,” Bucky praises. “Got a dick made for fucking, y’know that?” On and on he babbles until he spills all over himself. He moans Steve’s name through his climax, and it’s that sound that drives Steve over the edge. As deep as he can manage, he comes inside his best friend and nearly whites out from the intensity of it.

They stay like that, tangled together and kissing until Bucky’s eyes start to flutter shut.

“You really know how to wear a guy out.” 

“I try.” He wants to say more, say that maybe next time he can do even better if Bucky’s up for it— 

“You’ll be real probably with the dames for sure, now you know what you’re doing.” He pats Steve on the back and then sighs, his breathing becoming deep and rhythmic before Steve can so much as blink. 

Knowing it’s only digging himself a deeper hole, he buries his face in Bucky’s hair and falls asleep. He might not ever have this again, but at least he’s got tonight. 

**Author's Note:**

> ~~whatever you do, don't think about bucky continuing to encourage steve to date girls and dismissing all the hints at "more practice" because poor bucky's a confused mess as much as steve is and he'd only planned on that one time and that was it, that was all he allowed himself, and he's imagining things if he thinks steve wants more~~


End file.
